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English players respect Azhar Ali. He has a classical English technique which he developed by playing club cricket in Scotland early in his career and is an old school Test cricketer which the English prefer.

Also, he has played some good knocks against them.

I'm hopeful that he will score at least one hundred in the series. He negotiates the new ball better than anyone in the country and has very good discipline.

It will be great to see him on the Lord's Honor Board.

Never knew he played club cricket in Scotland. Yes he's very good against the new ball by pakistan standard .

2 questions, will he surpass team man and misbah?
Also in your opnion will he go down as a Pakistan great in test match terms? Will be difficult for him in ODI's I think

Azhar has a classical back-and-across technique. He got his basics in the UK which is reflected in his batting, but since he started as a leg-spinner, his shot range is limited.

He will definitely surpass Misbah in Tests, but as much as I hate to say it, but Younis is a far better player of spin bowling, which is why Azhar has not been a big scorer in UAE like Younis.

However, he is a very hard worker and should improve with time.

Yes I do think both Azhar and Shafiq will end up as Pakistan Test batting greats. Would love to see them play 100 Tests, score 8,000 runs with 20+ hundreds.

They are pretty much halfway there.

If he scores in these away tours and gets the runs you predicted he could edge ahead of team man. He works hard at his game and avoids controversies. Same with Asad as well 2 respectable batsmen for us.

If he scores in these away tours and gets the runs you predicted he could edge ahead of team man. He works hard at his game and avoids controversies. Same with Asad as well 2 respectable batsmen for us.

The selectors did a good job in investing in these two instead of players like Fawad and Umar. Big credit goes to Mohsin Khan who selected them in the first place.

Rahul is not rated cos of his IPL performances , its his U-19 and then Domestic showing which got him a call into the Indian side.

you couldn't be more wrong . if you watched his domestic season , he scored most of his runs on difficult pitches . And Karnataka does not play on these flat pitches ( half the time they dont plat in Bangalore either ) in domestic , its always made to assist its seamers .

Fair enough and thanks for correcting me. He is yet to fulfill his potential then. So far, its been just about average.

Of our current lot - only Babar and maybe Haris can reach their level if they work hard and keep focused on their game.

I don't know about Haris anymore bro, he's fragile and already about to be 27 and was still just finding his feet in internationals, when at that age batsman start becoming well established like Williamson or Kohli.

PCB really damaged his career by debuting him so damn late, when he should've been in the team 2-3 years prior to his debut in 2014, when he was like 23 or 24.

Babar has a lot of time on his side though, yeah. Though idk if he has the killer instinct of someone like Root or Kohli.

Btw Babar played against this guy named Chand during under 19s, what happened to him, he scored a century in the final and everyone though that he was going to be the next kohli

He had a few lean seasons but is back on track now. He is the India A captain for limited overs & did well in list A (Vijay Hazare) this season, taking Delhi to the finals with some big knocks in the knockouts. He also had a phenomenal run in the higher ranked Deodhar trophy IIRC. The selectors have an eye on him, he just needs 1 or 2 good domestic seasons & IPL to be back in the reckoning for international selection.

I don't know about Haris anymore bro, he's fragile and already about to be 27 and was still just finding his feet in internationals, when at that age batsman start becoming well established like Williamson or Kohli.

PCB really damaged his career by debuting him so damn late, when he should've been in the team 2-3 years prior to his debut in 2014, when he was like 23 or 24.

Babar has a lot of time on his side though, yeah. Though idk if he has the killer instinct of someone like Root or Kohli.

True but due to his late start he may be able to prolong his career like Misbah and YK.

I would hope to see him in ODI colors for atleast the next decade or so. Hopefully, even longer for Babar...

Fair enough and thanks for correcting me. He is yet to fulfill his potential then. So far, its been just about average.

Am excited about him cos hes still work in progress . Hes bit of a confidence player , am not surprised how hes done in the shorter format , cos his game does not have any obvious weakness , either against pace /spin / bounce or swing , but there are areas he can improve in each of these aspects . For eg hes a compulsive puller , I think he wanted to prove a point in Aus and tried pulling/hooking against the likes of MJ , when it dint work it seems to have hurt his confidence and played some shots he normally does not in domestic . you will see a different player once he gets a long run of atleast 10 matches in the Indian side

I remember waking up at 3 30 for those 2 NZ ODIs and being so frustrated at Shehzad and Azhar until I Babar and Hafeez blew me away. Couldnt believe I was watching Pakistanis bat. These 2 need to be number 3 and 4 and after Hafeez retires Babar should bat at 4.

A 19 year old Umar Akmal did the same and PCB mismanaged him into the tulla baz he is now.

We should have had Umar, Babar Azam and Haris Sohail as our middle order instead of technically limited duds like Azhar Ali and Iftikhar that make taking a single look difficult.

Babar will do much better simply because his work ethic is much better than Akmal's and the best part is he has started his career batting at 4 and comes across as more of a top 3 player. No team management will demot ehim below 4. After Hafeez's retirement he will and should bat at 3 if Haris is unfit. If Haris is fit then he should open.

Babar will do much better simply because his work ethic is much better than Akmal's and the best part is he has started his career batting at 4 and comes across as more of a top 3 player. No team management will demot ehim below 4. After Hafeez's retirement he will and should bat at 3 if Haris is unfit. If Haris is fit then he should open.

Umar Akmal is equally as talented if not more but Misbah and Afridi and coaches did not have a clue on how to groom his attitude and application.

Hafeez and Misbah used their seniority to hold on to their places and stopped or not help anyone else willing to step forward. Thats why we saw plenty of bowling debuts but no batter debuts till recently when Maqsood and Haris were tried 2 years ago. This is a crime against our cricket that average old timers did this to our cricket. New batters are being forced on them and watch them fade away and take their mediocrity with them.

Why blame the pcb, when Umar himself is a tool. It's not PCB's job to mollycoddle every player in wool and spoonfeed them. PCB should simply ensure that Umar got the right opportunities and good mentoring.

If the player himself doesn't want to go the extra mile, there is nothing PCB can do. Do you think Wasim, Imran, Kohli and Sachin were spoonfed by their respective boards? Those who become great, do it with or without their cricket boards. Those who fail, will fail in the best cricket systems.

babar looks very classy. I really like Rahul bases on what I've seen of him in tests so far. His hundred in SL was extremely impressive.

Originally Posted by Chrish

Talking about test mate

Dhawan has been decent enough in tests though. He even got runs in NZ and a very good hundred in SL, so he's not just a home track bully either. He's not amazing but think he gets an unfair bad rap. Rohit hasto be binned soon.

Dhawan has been decent enough in tests though. He even got runs in NZ and a very good hundred in SL, so he's not just a home track bully either. He's not amazing but think he gets an unfair bad rap. Rohit hasto be binned soon.

Yes Dhawan though doesn't have great technique, he at least has some temperament. I think he can continue as Test Opener mainly because he is a left hander. Rahul can actually come at 3 if Pujara loses his way! Actually the fight for spot is between Dhawan & Pujara, both can play only if India switches to 6 batsmen strategy which is very unlikely and even most people don't want (including me).

Shikhar Dhawan isn't an all rounded player but has managed to score valuable runs quite a few times. His century vs SL was brilliant and has scored in NZ and WI too. I think he is a kind of player who would most likely come good in a strong team but might struggle in a weaker team.

Rahul's a bit more technically sound with better defence while Babar has better hand-eye and greater range of shots.

He has improved his stroke play by leaps & bounds in the last 1-2 years, played at a good SR in IPL & Zim tour this year whereas he used to struggle to get going in previous seasons. Also got his 50 off just 60 balls yesterday. But the good thing is he has a good sense of judgement about when to attack and defend.

He has improved his stroke play by leaps & bounds in the last 1-2 years, played at a good SR in IPL & Zim tour. Also got his 50 off just 60 balls yesterday. But the good thing is he has a good sense of judgement about when to attack and defend.

The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs

The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs

The problem that Rahul is facing is that the only way he can be a part of the Indian ODI and T20 teams is if he plays as an opener so the only person he can replace is Dhawan who shouldnt be dropped from LOIs

Rahul played down the order for RCB this IPL and was fairly successful (400+ runs at 50+ avg at 160+ strike rate). India's problems are down the order and he might be the solution for us...

Rahul played down the order for RCB this IPL and was fairly successful (400+ runs at 50+ avg at 160+ strike rate). India's problems are down the order and he might be the solution for us...

Yeah but Pandey is a better option in the middle order. You could fit all 3 of Rahane, Pandey and Rahul in the middle order but for that Rahul will have to keep. Tbh I dont think a team like India even needs Rahane in LOIs. Raina is probably better though I dont rate him much

Yeah but Pandey is a better option in the middle order. You could fit all 3 of Rahane, Pandey and Rahul in the middle order but for that Rahul will have to keep. Tbh I dont think a team like India even needs Rahane in LOIs. Raina is probably better though I dont rate him much

Rahane and Jadeja needs to be booted out of T20s.. Jadeja is an ODI specialist who can do well on sporting pitches in tests. Rahane is an out and out test player. Need to get fresh faces like Rahul to add a new dynamic to our T20 side..